


Eschew Tradition

by Aenaria



Series: Interesting Times [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Happy 100th Steve Rogers, Inspired By Tumblr, SO MUCH FLUFF, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, did i mention the fluff?, seriously be sure to floss after reading this, the incrediblesverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-08 14:36:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15245496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenaria/pseuds/Aenaria
Summary: Nothing Steve and Darcy have done in their relationship so far has been truly traditional.  So why should this milestone be any different?Come to think of it, though, this is probably the most traditional thing they’ve ever done.  And neither one of them is complaining about it.An Incrediblesverse story for Steve Rogers’ 100th birthday festivities.





	Eschew Tradition

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was actually inspired by this tumblr post, and then it ended up rolling right into the birthday celebrations for our dear Steve. Thanks to @mee2themoo for setting up such a fantastic celebration! Okay, technically it’s his 103rd birthday in the story universe, but still. Totally counts. 
> 
> All previous Incrediblesverse stories can be found here. You don’t have to read those to enjoy this story, however. All you need to know is that Steve faked his death at the end of Civil War and is now living a happily quiet and domestic life with Darcy.
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

July 4th, 2021

 

The first thing that breaks through Steve’s sleep haze is sound - the squawking caw of a passing seagull, the gentle crash of a soft wave against sand.  The next sense to come into play is smell, coffee filling his nostrils and mingling with the scent of salt that the ocean leaves everywhere. Touch comes next with a light breeze that dances along his bare chest from where he’s shaken loose of the blankets, and a small hand that’s patting at his bearded cheek. 

Steve opens his eyes to see Joey’s bright blue ones staring back at him, with what intent he can’t divine.  “Hi,” Joey mumbles in that little toddler voice of his. He leans over, patting Steve’s cheek once more.

“Morning, buddy.”  Steve props himself up on an elbow, trying to get a better look at the inside of the camper van and see where Darcy could be.  The back doors of the van are wide open, and he can just make out their portable table outside the doors, the little pourover coffee maker on top of that, and the Virginia shoreline visible just past.  He can hear a scrabbling off to one side of the van, combined with some other noises that are most certainly Darcy trying to rearrange something, and he lets out a quick sigh of relief. 

“Daddy,” Joey says, more clearly than before and pulling Steve’s gaze back to him.  Being only a little bit past two years old his vocabulary is a bit limited, but the words that he does know he likes to use a  _ lot _ .

“What is it?” Steve asks, dropping back to the pillows and wrapping an arm around Joey’s body, tucking him into his side.  He glances over at the clock on the small ledge next to the bed, and winces at the sight of the hour hand being somewhere in the five o’clock range.  “And why are you up so early?” he whispers.

He never realized how much he liked to sleep until he had a child who didn’t seem to sleep at all.  Ever.

Joey nods, mouth pouting as he thinks hard about something.  But then he looks up, smiling and smacking his hands against Steve’s stomach.  “Happy Birfday,” he says, triumphantly.

Steve grins widely, pulling Joey even closer so he can press numerous kisses to his face, making the boy giggle and wrap his arms around his dad’s neck.  “Thank you.” Steve leans in close, whispering, “Did Mommy tell you to say that?”

“Mommy funny.”  Steve just shakes his head with another smile, cuddling Joey closer.

Only a few minutes pass before he notices that Joey’s dropped off to sleep once more, breaths steady and even against his skin.  Barely seconds after that he hears soft footsteps padding through the camper, and Darcy’s walking over, two travel mugs in her hands and a disgruntled look on her face.  “Now he sleeps,” she sighs.

“What time did he wake you up?” Steve asks, carefully moving himself and Joey back a little bit to make room for her on the bed.

“Too damn early.”  She puts the mugs on the ledge by the clock, and crawls in next to them, giving Steve a smacking kiss as she gets comfortable.  “Happy birthday. What’s it like to be 103?”

The glare that Steve gives Darcy is weak, filled with false outrage and more than a bit of amusement.  “Not much different from 102,” he concedes. “Or 100, for that matter.”

Darcy hums, settling in on the other side of Joey and running a palm over his back.  “So, in real people years, then, how old are you actually?”

“Seriously?  You don’t know that by now?  After how many years together?”

“Numbers aren’t my strong suit,” Darcy fires back.

Steve shakes his head, but then he realizes that even he has to mentally count off fingers to figure how how many years he’s actually been conscious rather than pulling the 95 year old man crap that he’d done before his retirement by way of fake death.  “36. Huh.” 

“It’s official - you’re a Millennial and can be responsible for the downfall of modern society just like the rest of us.”  Darcy flicks her eyes around the interior of the camper van, “especially considering that we’re living out of this thing for the time being.”

“Which was your idea to begin with.”  Well, it was a joint effort of an idea.  Between Darcy finally finishing up grad school and the lease on their apartment being up, both of them had been thinking that it was time to move on from New Mexico.  And so The Great Adventure began, investing in a camper van and traveling around the country while Joey was still young enough for them to be comfortable in such a small space.

Hopefully.  They’re only two weeks into the trip at this point, so who knows what can happen.

Darcy shrugs, readjusting so that she can lounge back into the pillows and encourage Steve to lean into her side.  “Millennials like to eschew tradition, what can I say?” She pauses, looking out the open doors of the camper towards the sea beyond.  Her brow wrinkles hard and she frowns slightly, chewing on the inside of her cheek. 

“What is it?” he asks, running a hand over her bare knee.

“Thinking about numbers,” she murmurs, “and breaking traditions.”

“Okay…”

She shakes her head again, just as she weaves her fingers through Steve’s overgrown hair.  “What’s our anniversary date? Hell, do we even have one? Like, we kinda just...fell into this.”  Darcy waves her free hand over them, like the simple move could encompass everything that’s happened in the years since they met.  “Does this mean we aren’t even dating if we don’t have some actual date to hang things on?”

“You know, there is an easy way to fix that,” Steve blurts out, a sudden, wild idea popping into his brain. 

“Yeah, how?”

“Marry me.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that we can’t even be sure if we ever actually made an agreement to date!  We could have screwed Joey up royally for the rest of his life because of this!”

Steve bites back a laugh, because of all of the reactions to an off the cuff proposal this is not the one he had pictured...and it just reminds him all the more why he loves this woman so much.  “You didn’t answer my question,” he points out.

Darcy rolls her eyes and pats his head.  “Of course it’s a yes, but this other thing is really bothering me, dammit.”  Another pause, and she looks down at Steve who’s fighting hard to not burst out laughing.  “Did you just ask what I think you just asked?”

He nods, chest heaving with the effort to not laugh at his newly minted fiancee.  “I mean, I don’t have a ring yet, but it’s certainly something I’ve been thinking about for a long while now.”

“How long?” Darcy whispers, leaning down to brush her nose against his.

“Feels like centuries,” Steve whispers back, stretching up to capture her mouth.  

The moment’s broken by Joey, of course, who shifts in his sleep enough to kick Steve in the stomach followed by a burp that sounds far too loud to have come from such a small body.  “And we’re back down to earth,” Darcy says, just as Steve readjusts Joey so that his feet aren’t aimed anywhere sensitive.  **“** How can he sleep through all of that?!  But still,” she continues, “a thousand times yes to the birthday boy.”

“I think it’s going to be one of my best birthdays ever,” Steve replies with a smile that’s brighter than the sunrise.


End file.
